NASA Seeks Commercial Ways to Keep Hubble Flying Longer

“Hubble is a national icon that has fundamentally changed how humanity views our universe for more than 35 years.”

“Commercial industry has rapidly evolved in recent years to offer new capabilities for in-space satellite capture and servicing. Given the time we have until Hubble’s anticipated re-entry, we are eager to explore the breadth of possibilities to boost Hubble to a higher orbit while we develop the flagship mission to follow.”

NASA is collecting options, not choosing a contractor.

Why is Hubble’s orbit running down?

Hubble operates in low Earth orbit, the orbital region close enough to Earth that the thin outer atmosphere creates drag. That drag slowly pulls the telescope’s orbit downward.

Hubble has no propulsion system, meaning it cannot continually push itself back to a higher altitude. Orbital decay therefore sets a finite limit on how long the observatory can remain in its current operating environment.

NASA’s analysis predicts that Hubble will likely re-enter the atmosphere in 2033–2034. Re-entry means returning through the atmosphere. That estimate leaves NASA little margin, so the agency expects any mission to occur by 2032.

Raising Hubble to a higher orbit could extend its useful science life. NASA’s request also leaves open the possibility of servicing the observatory’s capabilities rather than relying on altitude alone.

Hubble cannot undo atmospheric drag on its own, so time determines when action must begin.

How far has this effort actually progressed?

The announcement remains an information-gathering step. It does not name a contractor, specify a spacecraft design or commit NASA to a particular flight. Companies interested in the work must first respond to the RFI.

Fox’s reference to satellite capture and servicing describes general capabilities for reaching spacecraft in orbit and working on them. The announcement leaves the method open rather than prescribing how a commercial company should approach Hubble.

A NASA image accompanying the announcement notes that Hubble returned to orbit as an improved telescope after its second servicing mission in February 1997. The new inquiry considers whether commercial industry could help sustain or extend that operating record.

Hubble has now worked for more than three decades and continues to produce discoveries that shape scientists’ understanding of the universe. NASA also continues developing the flagship mission intended to follow Hubble.

The request defines possible outcomes and a deadline, but not an approved mission.

Who manages Hubble and where does its work sit?

Hubble is an international project between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and its mission operations.

Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.

The Baltimore institute operates under the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. This arrangement separates the observatory’s engineering and mission-control work from the scientific teams that use its instruments.

Commercial hardware could buy Hubble more time, while NASA, the European Space Agency and specialist institutions continue running the observatory.